Amanda Muir Samina Rehman Equal Say for Parents Amanda Muir Samina Rehman

Key Features of Good Practice Accessible information and communication Coordinated work Support should be based on assessments of parents’ needs and strengths Long term support Access to independent advocacy Refreshed Scottish Good Practice Guidelines for Supporting Parents with a Learning Disability

Principles of Supported Parenting 1. Support should be available right from the start i.e. from pre-birth onwards 2. Families might need ongoing support i.e. support at every stage of the child’s Development 3. Support must be based on respect for the parents and for the emotional bond between the parents and their children 4. Parents should be seen as a resource, not a problem 5. Support should be for the family as a whole rather than individuals 6. Parents should be supported to feel in control and to experience being competent 7. Support should focus on building strengths 8. Families are best supported in the context of their own extended families, neighbourhoods and Communities Refreshed Scottish Good Practice Guidelines for Supporting Parents with a Learning Disability

Independent Advocacy “Independent advocacy is about speaking up for an individual or group. Independent advocacy is a way to help people have a stronger voice and to have as much control as possible over their own lives.” Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance- www.siaa.org.uk

Why is Independent Advocacy Important? Evidence suggests that families with a parent who has a learning disability can often have very complex needs due to a large variety of factors including poverty, discrimination, depression, poor self-esteem, and unemployment (Macintyre & Stewart, 2012; Wade, Mildon & Matthews, 2007). …there is a propensity for parents with a learning disability to be over-represented in care proceedings (Cox, Kroese & Evans, 2015). Between 40% and 60% of parents with a learning disability have their children removed due to them being assessed as being unable to meet an adequate standard of parenting (Wilson et al., 2013)

Why is Independent Advocacy Important? It has been suggested that parents with learning disabilities have to meet a stricter criteria than other parents (Tarleton, 2007) Parents with learning disabilities face what has been described as temporal discrimination when they are involved in child protection proceedings (Booth, McConnell & Booth, 2006) when provided with enough support, many parents with a learning disability can improve their skills and knowledge and learn to parent more effectively (Murphy & Feldman 2002; Coren, Thomae & Hutchfield, 2011).

“What was your life like before you had the support of an advocate?” Not being listened to Not getting the right support Not understanding Finding it difficult to speak up Feeling isolated and frustrated

What do Advocates Do? Witness Problem Solver Buffer Fixer Voice Sounding board Go-between Confidante Interpreter Ally Listener Conduit Scribe Booth & Booth, 1998

What difference does Advocacy Make? Parents said: “I feel I’ve made more progress than before, things are moving forward.” “My children now live at home with me.” “I can stand up for myself more.” “I feel like I’ve got more support and somebody on my side.” “She sticks up for me and makes people listen”

What difference does Advocacy Make? Referrers said: “It’s been really good at breaking down the process and helping her to understand, the advocate stopped the meeting to give the client time to read the information…I was really impressed with that” “I think it has helped her to feel that she hasn’t been abandoned hopefully and so I think that means she is trying to do more instead of giving up.” “The independent nature of the(advocacy) service is very important – it becomes difficult for us to say often what needs to be said on behalf of the parent as we work for the organisation…they could challenge issues on behalf of the service user that social work cannot.”

Support should be based on assessments of parents’ needs and strengths Mellow is a group programme based on attachment and social learning theories Aims to improve parent-child relationships. No compulsory referrals Group builds on parents’ strengths www.mellowparenting.org

A Mellow Parenting group Personal Group Lunch-time Activity Parenting Workshop Video Feedback Have a Go Activity

Discussion What are the barriers to learning and attendance experienced by parents with a learning disability?

Building on Strengths Parents often experience a deficit model of assessment Parents supported to prepare for attending the group- support to remove practical barriers to attendance and to think about what do they want to work on for themselves and their child? Facilitative Style, parents are supported to learn from each other. Video feedback, helps to show the parent what they are already doing well.

Outcomes Average attendance was 88%. From feedback, 100% of parents said they benefited from group activities with their child and 83% said their relationship with their child had improved 89% reported feeling more confident as a parent and 92% felt more confident about asking for help when needed.

Parents’ Views “The thing I found is we’re all parents in here and we’re all sort of in the same situation. We can all relate to one another with problems and that leads to other advice.” “It’s been a good experience meeting new people; it’s been a good laugh, good fun.” I asked one of the other mums how she approached things like with the night time routines and things…she said she uses lavender in the bath and stuff and I’ve started using that since she told me”

Mellow Futures Programme Perinatal Programme for Mums with learning difficulties Toddlers Programme for Parents with learning difficulties is about to be piloted Smaller group All Mums have learning difficulties Materials adapted to be more accessible Mentors to support at home

Contact Amanda Muir Project Manager Equal Say for Parents 0141 556 3477 amanda@equalsay.org www.equalsay.org